And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19 (NASB)

If I were to be honest, I would have to admit that I spend too much of my time thinking about money.  I worry about money way too much; maybe you do as well.  If so, this week’s verse will hopefully serve as a beneficial reminder for both of us. Right there in the Bible it clearly states that God will supply our needs.  If I could get that through my thick skull, I might have a lot of extra time on my hands.

Let’s delve a bit further into this verse.  First, we see that we have to do our part in order to have God do His part.  This is evidenced by the “in Christ Jesus” phrase.  What’s our part then?  We have to be “in Christ Jesus.”  This verse then does not promise to supply everyone’s needs; just those that worship God and rely on Jesus Christ for eternal salvation.  Another part of this equation is that we must be being obedient to God.  If are continually sinning with no remorse and thumbing our nose at God, He’s not necessarily going to meet our needs.

There is one final caveat I’d like to point out today – the verse clearly states that God will supply our “needs.”  Therefore, you need to know the difference between a need and a want.  Actually, you need to know the difference as God would define it.  One of those parenting moments when I really felt like I was getting through to my kids was when I overheard my 5 year-old son telling his 7 year-old sister, “you don’t need it, you just want it!”  (should I be embarrassed to say that was one of my proudest moments as a father?)

Of course, if you want to relieve some burden of worry about money and meeting your own needs, you have to ensure that the one agreeing to meet your needs for you is capable of producing.  Clearly God can accomplish this.  Remember that we must rely on Jesus for our eternal salvation.  I would venture that justifying sinners like you and me with all the wrong we’ve done over the course of our lives is the hard part.  If God can do that, providing for our basic needs certainly is a trivial task for Him.

God bless and have great week…

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2. Weekly Bible Verse – Little with God or Much Without? Better a little with the fear of the LORD than...
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Thus, I will share my original list here and probably do some status updates as we work through it. If you have any comments, suggestions, questions, or just anything to share about any of the items on the list, please drop a comment (after you see the length of the list, you’ll realize that I need all the help I can get!).

Without further ado, here’s the list…

1. Plastic surgery on some of our credit cards – we have a lot of credit cards (major credit cards, bank credit cards, retailer cards, etc) and we need to pare them down for piece of mind and ease of administration. Some we have not used in years, so it’s time for most of them to go!
2. A cash trial – Ramsey preaches the power of cash throughout his course. We have never tried to use exclusively cash in all our years of marriage, so I suppose it is time to give it a faithful try and see how it works for us. Note: we have actually started this one.
3. A workable budget spending plan – Especially with my wife not working for at least a few months, it’s time to get serious about creating a realistic and workable budget and then actually living by it and updating it each month. Note: we have actually created a rough budget but need to tweak it while my wife is off work for maternity leave/retirement.
4. Periodically check our credit reports – Leveraging the free credit reports from the three major reporting bureaus, it is possible to view a free report every four months.
5. Investigate identity theft protection – We currently have no ID theft protection coverage, so it’s time to investigate and probably purchase some.
6. Investigate updating our life insurance – My wife and I currently are a few years into our 20-year term policies. Since having our fourth child, however, we need to evaluate whether that is still sufficient.
7. 401(k) tweaks – I need to evaluate modifying my contribution to my 401k plan, specifically should I shift more of those contributions to the Roth 401k portion of the plan? I’d also like to up my overall contribution percentage but that is probably not feasible right now.
8. Convert to a Roth IRA? – Is 2010 the year to convert my old rollover IRA to a Roth IRA? I’ll find out.
9. Investigate increasing my college savings contribution – self-explanatory.
10. Evaluate my current job – Is 2010 the year to change to a different job or even a different company. I’ll find out.
11. Decide what to do, if anything, with our current mortgage – If my wife is no longer working, then our mortgage payment is a bit larger than I’d like it to be. But what to do about it? I need to evaluate whether it makes sense to refinance or move or stay put. This gets interesting due to the fact that we owe more money on our mortgage than zillow says our house is currently worth.
12. Get title insurance – We did not purchase title insurance when we bought our current house, so I need to evaluate what it would take to get some now. Obviously, if any changes are made to our mortgage or housing situation, that will affect our plan of action for this item as well.
13. Sell everything we don’t need – Getting rid of stuff, either by selling or donating it, is really a win-win! I love to end up with less clutter and putting a little extra money in your pocket is just icing on the cake.

So the easy part is done (creating the list), now it’s time to get to work on the hard part! As I mentioned, if you have any suggestions or comments or advice, please share – I’d appreciate the help.

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Did I learn anything?

I did, in fact, learn quite a bit over the past few months.  Of course, I gained some new personal finance information.  More importantly than that, though, I took away some new knowledge about myself and my wife.  It was a great experience to participate in the class with her (this was the first time we’ve ever done any financial-type studies together).  Not only did I learn about the way she thinks a bit, but the experience also sparked a number of practical conversations about our finances.

When we first were married, we used to “dream” about our futures and how they would unfold.  As you get busy with jobs and then kids, the fantastic tends to be replaced by the concerns of daily life.  Dreaming about and discussing what we wanted life to look like in 5 years, etc, was very valuable.  Now, we’ve only scratched the surface on that and have a lot more to do, but I’m hoping that this was the match that rekindled it for us.

Weaning ourselves from credit cards

The biggest change that we’ve made as a result of this class was that we are trying to no longer use credit cards.  For the past two months, we have been using a combination of cash and debit cards instead of credit.  Whereas in the past, we put absolutely everything on our credit cards, now we put it on our debit card instead.  Well, we do use actual cash for dining out – now that’s really easy to manage: if we don’t have any cash, then we don’t eat out.  Practically, there isn’t much difference to using a debit card instead of a credit card, but we are still spending our money instead of exposing ourselves to credit limits and late charges.  Dave Ramsey is adamant that using a debit card instead of a credit card makes a difference but the jury is still out on whether this makes a material difference for us specifically.

We have our TODO list

I created a list of items to look into that arose from taking this course and as I look back over that list, I’m struck by how large it is.  I thought that we were doing things pretty well (personal finance-wise at least); either I wasn’t or there is just so much to take care of that it’s hard to completely nail everything.  Either way, the class was quite beneficial in enabling me to create this list and I hope to be in a better place financially and personally as a result of working through the list.  I was going to share the list here to create a record of it and to spark some discussion and suggestions, but I think I’ll have to save that for another post (check back soon).

You, yes you, should take this course

I found this course extremely enjoyable.  Now, if you’re a normal person, maybe that’s not an endorsement you take seriously (you know, since I write a PF blog and read about these topics for fun in my spare time).  So, to allay your concerns, allow me to mention that my wife enjoyed the classes as well (truthfully, she did!).  She found Dave to be a very engaging speaker.  It was fun to go to class and watch him on the DVDs.

The topics that are covered in FPU are myriad and varied.  Whether you are struggling with getting out of debt, worried about creditors, trying to get started on the right track, or trying to get things in order as retirement looms, this class has information that you will find valuable.

That being said, Dave’s basic philosophy is based on simplicity.  In a nutshell, save and invest your money instead of giving it away to banks and credit card companies.  There is nothing too terribly complex about the advice.  If you think that you are too sophisticated for this advice, you might not enjoy the class with its simple approach (of course, if that describes you, I’d argue that maybe you really, really need to hear some of the lessons!)

So, don’t be afraid; even if you’re not the “nerd” in your relationship, I’d venture that you’ll get a kick out of Dave.  Go for the entertainment and you’ll probably learn a tremendous amount of finances and how to really win with money.  Truthfully, if you can find a session going on near you, I highly recommend that you attend.  If you are married or engaged, I’d highly recommend both or you attending the class together.  Of course, you can take an online version of FPU, but you just can’t recreate the valuable discussion alone (I hope not, at least) and undoubtedly some of your classmates will serve as inspiration for you!

There you have it – I enjoyed FPU, was glad that I did it, was thrilled to complete it with my wife, and you should find a class and participate as soon as you can!

Check out my previous FPU posts:

• Introduction
• Lesson 1 – Super Saving
• Lesson 2 – Relating with Money
• Lesson 3 – Cash Flow Planning
• Lesson 4 – Dumping Debt
• Lesson 5 – Credit Sharks in Suits
• Lesson 6 – Buyer Beware
• Lesson 7 – Clause and Effect
• Lesson 8 – That’s Not Good Enough
• Lesson 9 – Of Mice and Mutual Funds
• Lesson 10 – From Fruition to Tuition
• Lesson 11 – Working in Your Strengths
• Lesson 12 – Real Estate and Mortgages
• Lesson 13 – The Great Misunderstanding

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I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice.  My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver!  I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice.  Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries.  Proverbs 8:18-21 (NLT)

I spend a significant amount of time here discussing money, topics such as how to get it, how to keep it, how best to use it, and so on (this is a personal finance blog after all!).  This week’s Bible verse refocuses us on the true source of all of this wealth that I and so many other people devote countless hours to.

God possesses not only riches, but also honor, not only wealth, but also justice.  His gifts are ever better than the purest gold and sterling silver.  Personally, I like the sound of all of that.  So, let’s keep reading and see that “those who love” God will inherit this wealth from Him.  In fact, he will fill your treasuries.  Remember, God created and owns everything, if you decides to fill your treasuries, you won’t be able to contain all of His blessings!

Now maybe this isn’t specifically speaking of wealth as in money.  Certainly, you might read “enduring wealth” as not being money since wealth is so fleeting.  Whatever He is speaking of in this passage, however, it is good and I want some of it!  Enduring wealth, justice, and gifts that are better than gold – I would definitely love to inherit that (wouldn’t you?).  Whether this is a strictly monetary blessing or something different (better?), focus on God, love God, worship God, serve God so that you can inherit what He has in store for you.  And whether that is a big pile of money to use for His Kingdom or a contented spirit such that you are just completely satisfied and happy with your life, it will be enduring and it will be good!

God bless and have a great week…

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Do you want to be truly rich? You already are if you are happy and good. After all, we didn’t bring any money with us when we came into the world, and we can’t carry away a single penny when we die. So we should be well satisfied without money if we have enough food and clothing.  1 Timothy 6:6-8 (LB)

I thought of the meaning of being “truly rich” often this past weekend as I drove to North Carolina with a college friend for the visitation of another college friend who died suddenly and quite unexpectedly last week.  Now I may be old but I am certainly not old enough that my friends should be passing away from cardiac problems!  My friend was a wonderful woman who leaves behind a husband, a three-year old, and a two-week old baby!

Times like this, of course, force you to reflect on your own life.  I spend a lot of time thinking about, reading about, and talking about money and finances.  So, naturally, when I reflect on life, I think of concepts like being “truly rich” as this verse in Timothy explains.  You are truly rich if you are happy and good.  In other versions, the word “contentment” is used.  If you are content with what you have (be it a little or a lot), if you are happy with your family and friends, then you are rich!

I was reminded again this past weekend that life is short and that you should never take anything for granted.  I urge you this week (and this is a reminder for me as well) to focus on what is really important in life.  As it says above, you “can’t carry away a single penny when you die,” so spend your time working for the things that endure – namely kingdom works, relationships, memories, and the like.  Maybe we should focus a little more on being truly rich and a little less on being monetarily rich as we go forward.

God bless and have a great week..

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1. When cooking, use as little water as possible and cover the pot with a lid. This simple rule can save up to 15% on energy, and your meal will be ready faster!
2. If you have a pressure cooker, use it when possible. It can save you up to 40% on energy.
3. Don’t keep refrigerators and freezers colder than necessary. The correct temperature for refrigerator compartments is 38° F, and 5° F for a freezer. If possible, don’t keep the fridge close to heaters and don’t leave the doors open longer than needed. It will use more energy to cool back down.
4. Defrost food in the refrigerator. It will give away the cold, resulting in consuming less energy. On the other end, don’t put hot products inside the fridge, as the appliance will have to work harder to keep the temperature low.
5. Remember that electronic devices left on standby are still considerable power eaters. Fortunately, they can be stopped without incurring any additional spending. Simply shut them off completely when going to work or to bed. TVs, radios, DVD and CD players, electric toothbrushes, printers, scanners, copiers, you name it. Stop them from eating your money!
6. Most computers have power management features, so use them! Set up your PC so that the monitor enters sleep mode after 10 minutes of inactivity and turns off after 30 minutes.
7. Surprising as it may be, a charger left in the socket still consumes energy. Unplug it once your mobile phone or MP3 player is fully charged.
8. Run your washing machine only when fully loaded. In many cases, pre-washing or high temperatures are not necessary and require more energy. If possible, let your clothes air-dry.
9. Use 100% of your dishwasher’s capacity, and check for eco-friendly options.
10. Avoid excessive heating or air conditioning. If you feel cold, try putting on a sweater before turning the thermostat up. Turn the heat off when leaving doors or windows open.

As you can see, it’s easy to start saving on utility bills today. You just need a little patience and practice to make use of these simple tips in your everyday life. Of course once you put aside a little bit, I encourage you to invest in energy-saving solutions. Always look for the Energy Star logo when choosing appliances, lightning, heating and cooling systems, home electronics, or office equipment.

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Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honour and life.  Proverbs 22:4 (NIV)

So the latest get rich quick scheme of using Twitter to send out tweets about selling an e-book that shows other people how to get rich by sending out tweets about selling an e-book is maybe not the best way to ensure wealth? (note to self: cross that off  todo list)

In fact, according to Proverbs 22:4, you can acquire not only wealth but also honor and life by following this piece of advice (even if you can acquire some wealth by sending out those tweets, I can pretty much guarantee you that path won’t lead to honor for you!).  So how do you get acquire all this, you ask?  The answer is through “humility” and “fear of the Lord.”

Maybe that’s not the answer you were looking for?  It certainly falls about 180 degrees from the manner to achieve wealth and honor preached by our society.  No, the world tells us that we need to be hard-charging, to work longer hours than everyone else, to devote ourselves to our work above all else in life, and certainly not to ever be humble about anything!  Are you surprised that’s not the exact path laid out by the Bible?

In contrast, what the Bible is telling us is to devote ourselves to God above all else and to rely on Him to provide us a path to wealth.  Now, I’m not a Biblical scholar, but from what I can tell this isn’t a case of the word for “wealth” actually meaning something possibly more nebulous like “prosperity.”  It appears to be used in the Bible to mean actual “riches” and “wealth.”  That notwithstanding, please don’t skip over the other two words in this verse – especially the last.  I would argue that “Life” is much more valuable than money.

So, humbling yourself before God, having that healthy respect/fear for Him,  devoting yourself to His purpose, relying on Him, that brings you not only wealth and honor but also life?  Yes, please – sign me up for that!

God bless and have a great week…

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Yikes – I wasn’t really paying attention last month (probably because of the impending birth of my 4th child!) and I encountered a rude surprise when I updated our net worth this month.  Let’s get right into the carnage…

Our assets decreased almost 4%

Every single asset category dropped last month.  Some dropped a little (like our cash assets) while our assets exposed to the stock market dropped substantially.  My stock options dropped the most (more than 20%) while the rest of the categories dropped in the mid-single digits.  Our house value also continued to decrease – this is the fourth month in a row with a small (1-2%) decrease.  The net result of all of that is that we are even more underwater on our mortgage and have 4% less assets compared to last month.

Of course, all of this is now exacerbated by the birth of our daughter two weeks ago.  There, of course, will be many new expenses associated with that (hospital bills, we decided to do blood cord banking, truckloads of diapers, etc) while at the same time my wife won’t be receiving a paycheck for another couple months at least (or indefinitely if we decide that she should retire).  All that adds us to a few interesting months to come finance-wise!

Our liabilities decreased 0.12%

Our mortgage drops approximately 0.12% each month.  It is frustrating to me how small of a drop that is each month (I now wish I had followed Dave Ramsey’s advice to take out a 15 year mortgage but I hadn’t heard that advice when we bought our house!)  Unfortunately, it is difficult to do anything with our mortgage because we are under water with it.  With the next few months bringing increased expenses and decreased income, I am especially wary of making any big moves that would deplete our savings and investments significantly.  So we stand pat for now until we see how this all plays out.

Our net worth decreased almost 8%!

Overall, our net worth dropping a whopping 7.7% which is the largest single-month drop since March 2009.  Also, saying it in percentages doesn’t sound as bad as the actual dollar value that was lost!

So, we enter a period of uncertainty with the changes in our finances and I’m not sure right now how it will all play out.  I will be trying hard to focus on God and rely on Him and not get too worried about all of it.  Now, I don’t want to overplay it – it’s not like we are in dire circumstances or anything like that.  We have been saving and investing for a while and also have a healthy emergency fund.  For me, however, I just really don’t like the idea of spending more money than we bring in each month.

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Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.  Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

I have lots of ideas (most of them collected in a huge and therefore virtually indecipherable mind map) and I’m sure you have many as well.  They run the gamut from being pretty good, well-formed ideas all the way to pie-in-the-sky, no-way-I-could-make-that-happen ones!  The most important aspect of planning for my ideas, though, is something that I don’t have much control over actually.  As stated, God’s purpose is what will prevail.

Previously, I discussed the importance of planning and committing your works to the Lord. And today’s verse builds on top of what I discussed in that post.  I previously stated that the purpose of committing your plans to God was not to convince God that we have a great idea so that He agrees to bless it.  Rather, it was to get yourself in line with what God wants you to do.

Today’s verse further underscores the importance of aligning yourself with God.  Why waste your time by running off on your own attempting to pursue that which is not God’s purpose?  Go through the process of committing your plans to God and discover whether you should pursue your ideas or abandon them and move on to something more worthwhile.  And it’s a win-win since you’ll be a better person as a result of going through the process!

God bless and have a great week…

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There are pages written about how to buy term life insurance, but very few devoted to death benefit claims and payouts. Sadly, this topic is so neglected, that awareness levels on this matter are very low. Term life insurance is the best kind of life insurance available today, and it would be a shame if your beneficiaries do not know or are misled about payout procedures. This article
will help fill the gap and provide some insights into the types of term life insurance payouts.

The first step
When a loved one has expired and the funeral formalities are finished, you, the beneficiary needs to submit a certified copy of the death certificate to the insurance company. The death certificate is a must in order to file an insurance claim. Instead of contacting the insurance company, contact the agency or agent that sold the policy to the insured. Numbers of both the agent/agency and the life insurance company are usually found on the policy itself. The agent will help you understand the procedure better, and will ease the process for you in your time of grief.

Death benefit payout options
When your claim has been filed and approved, the life insurance company will ask you how you would like to receive the death benefit amount. There are two main payout options:

Lump Sum
Almost every term life insurance policy allows you to withdraw the entire death benefit amount in a lump sum. Most beneficiaries opt for this payout plan if there are pressing financial commitments like loan payments or an urgent need for the entire amount. Some beneficiaries prefer to withdraw the entire amount, and then direct it to tax-deferred investment vehicles.

Annuity Methods

For those who do not wish to receive the death benefit in a lump sum, life insurance companies offer several types of annuity (yearly) payout options depending on how you want to receive the amount. These include:

1. Life income: The beneficiary is guaranteed an annual income as long as he or she lives. The insurance company determines the payment amounts based on the age and gender of the beneficiary. If the beneficiary dies, the insurance company retains the balance amount.
2. Life income, period certain: The beneficiary is guaranteed an annual income for life, or a specified period of time, whichever is longer. If the beneficiary dies before the specified period, his or her beneficiary i.e. a second beneficiary receives the outstanding payments.
3. Last survivor income: If there is more than one beneficiary, life payments will be made until the last surviving beneficiary dies.
4. Specific Income: The beneficiary gets to choose how much and for how many years death benefits will be received, until the entire death benefit is exhausted. If the beneficiary dies before the last payment, his or her beneficiary receives the remaining payouts.
5. Interest income: This is a great option for minor beneficiaries. The beneficiary is guaranteed payments on the interest paid on the death benefit for a specified time, or until the beneficiary reaches a certain age. The original benefit is then made available to the beneficiary.

Always think your options through

Before choosing a payout option, evaluate your financial needs to determine which option is best for you. It is always wise to speak to a financial advisor or a tax consultant. Though the payment options are relatively simple and easy to comprehend, it is wise to understand them thoroughly and know the implications of each kind of payout method. Beneficiaries must be aware that though the lump sum benefit is tax-free, all interest amounts received on the lump sum are taxable.

If you do not own a term life policy yet, the Internet is a great place to shop around and get free term life quotes. Just make sure that your beneficiaries are kept in the loop about the options available to them when claiming your death benefit.

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For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Psalm 139:13 (NIV)

Wait – what does that have to do with personal finances?  On the surface, nothing, I guess.  But I’m going to use it to celebrate the birth of my fourth child!!  My wife gave birth to our third daughter last week and we are so excited to welcome her and her chubby cheeks into the world!  (It’s also the main reason there haven’t been that many posts here at BFN lately)

Now, sure this does have personal finance ramifications.  For instance, it’s another mouth to feed, more clothes to buy, more diapers, wipes, etc.  On the other hand, we do get another exemption on our tax return.  Of course, all of that is trumped by the big ticket items such as medical bills, health insurance, college tuition, a wedding some day, and so on and so forth.

But I’m not worrying about any of that right now.  Allow me to share a bonus verse with you:

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.  Psalm 127:3 (NASB)

A gift from God?  A reward from Him?  I like the sound of that!  I’ll worry about all the financial changes later (to be honest, these are the reasons we’ve been saving up and why we created an emergency fund in the first place) but right now, when I look upon her chubby cheeks and perfect round little face as she sleeps contentedly, I wholeheartedly agree with Psalm 127:3: she truly is a gift from God!

God bless and have a great week…

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The recession in particular has had a lasting effect on many Americans, leaving some in the unexpected position of needing help versus giving help. So if you’re in a position to give, this is a great time to show that you truly know how to “Love Thy Neighbor” by offering help to those you know and love – and those you’ve never met – who are struggling through this harsh recession.

Give Money

One of the most direct and effective ways to help those in need is to give money. Whether you’re offering money to a loved one or donating to a local charity, giving cash out of your pocket makes available a number of assistance options, including buying clothes and food, paying bills and more.

Donate Clothes, Food and Even You

If you feel that you’re not in a financial position to offer money, there are plenty of other great ways to give what you already have in your home. For instance, you could:

• Donate your clothes and complimentary items:
  Organizations like the Goodwill and Salvation Army are among the many that would love to have you to donate clothes, blankets and bedding that you no longer need. After you donate, the organizations sell the items then use that money to help members of their community, making your donation well worth it.
• Donate food: If you have canned goods in your home, you could donate food to local churches or community organizations. Or you could contribute to larger organizations that contribute to community food banks, like Feeding America.
• Donate you: While you may not have money, clothes, food or other miscellaneous items, you do have blood to give. Donating blood is a simple process that could save many lives. Even more, some organizations actually pay you for your time and contribution.  It’s definitely worth the 30 minutes you may be giving up.

There are other ways to donate as well, including offering tools and supplies to Habitat for Humanity, which helps rebuild communities by restoring or building new homes from the ground up.

Educate Your Neighbors

Another great way to give to those in need during the recession is through education. Whether you’re good filing taxes, managing money or writing resumes, there’s someone who could benefit from your expertise.

Here are some particularly interesting ways that you could volunteer your time to people right in your neighborhood:

• Help find employment: You may know someone who is not very Internet savvy but needs to find work. If you’re knowledgeable in this area, you could help locate job opportunities by connecting them to online unemployment resources, including job boards, social networking sites and great career advice blogs. Simply setting up online accounts could make the difference in finding a job, so why not offer your expertise to give a neighbor another shot at employment?
• Teach personal finance: It’s more than possible to save money during the recession. If you believe this and are doing it yourself then you could help a friend or neighbor do the same. By teaching personal finance budgeting, you could offer an invaluable resource that would be useful, not just during the recession, but for years to come.

There are plenty of other ways to offer your personal expertise, including providing knowledge on credit reports, helping to fill out mortgage applications, or even teaching how to invest. However, if you’re looking to volunteer with organizations, this volunteer website is a great place to help you match your interests to various organizations’ needs.

The satisfaction of helping your neighbor is one that you should not overlook. By giving to someone in need during this recession, you are indeed fulfilling the greater purpose of serving your fellow man and making this world a better place.

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What is BeDebtFreeAmerica?

BeDebtFreeAmerica is a “debt elimination tool” that can help you optimize your debt repayment schedule.    It seems to work in the standard manner you would expect from such a site.  You enter all of your debts and their associated information (balance, interest rate, etc) and the software creates a customized, and customizable, plan for you to efficiently pay them all off.

Multiple Reports

BeDebtFreeAmerica provides the user with multiple reports so that can keep on top of your plan and how it is proceeding.  You can view the details for one debt at a time, or a detailed list of every debt, monthly payment, interest paid, balance remaining, or just the stripped down basics of what to pay each month.  For people who like to look at data a bunch of different ways (ok, for nerds like me) this is a handy feature.  Click here to check out a sample account.

The tool appears to use the interest rate method for determining to order of payoff (pay off the highest rate loan first) but the site states that sometimes it chooses to give a smaller debt higher priority in the payoff list a la Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball.  It does provide what I consider to be a nice feature in that you can manually adjust the order the debts are paid off if you decide that you really want to pay off a specific debt first (or last, I guess).

Free “Kick-the-Tires” and Premium Memberships

I like that BeDebtFreeAmerica provides free access as well as a premium membership.  Even the premium component currently only costs $30 for a lifetime membership though, so it’s not exactly big bucks we’re talking about.  The free component provides the basic functionality but you are limited to four debts and it limits some of the capabilities.  For instance, with a premium membership, you can modify interest rates and add extra payments at any time and can view all of the reports (you only get the basic report in the free account).  Check out this comparison for more details.

Overall this looks to be a pretty nice tool and I’d recommend you take a  look at it if you are in need of the assistance.  The ability to try it out via the free membership is a great way to delve into it and take it for a test spin.

Win a Premium Membership

But why settle for the free membership when you win a premium membership!  If you are interested in winning a premium membership to BeDebtFreeAmerica, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  Tell us how many debts you are going to pay off with its help….or if you don’t feel like doing that, then just say it’s none of our business!

To Review:

1. Leave a comment below
2. Updated: The giveaway will close Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at 11:59 PM EDT.
3. I will randomly select a winner using random.org .  The winner will be announced February 10th and I will contact you via email – so please leave a valid email address in your comment.
4. Good luck!

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In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. Proverbs 21:20 (NIV)

Once again we see how extremely practical the Bible turns out to be in its wisdom and advice.  Why should we save some of our income and resources each month?  Is this something we really need to worry about?  Of course, most people would probably say it’s a good idea to save (though saying it and doing it appear to be two very different things in our society nowadays!).  Now we see that this is much more than just simple common sense, rather it is Biblical wisdom!

Depending on the circles that you run in, you might have heard it said that you should not “presume” upon God (that usually means you shouldn’t go into more and more debt assuming that God will bail you out of whatever money problems you bring upon yourself).  Maybe you know it as the story of Joseph shielding Egypt from seven years of famine.  Quite possibly images of Dave Ramsey railing about the importance of an emergency fund run through your head.  Maybe thoughts of your Grandmother’s advice to save up for a rainy day come to mind.  Or you might have read it to your kids as the fable of the ant and the grasshopper.  However you heard it, it means the same thing and it comes from the Bible – wise people do not “devour” all they have, instead they save up for their future needs (to keep Murphy from moving in your spare bedroom as Ramsey might say).

God bless and have a great week…

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SeeBeyond2020.com is a subscription service that attempts to provide you with a plan to get out of debt in the shortest amount of time possible.  Now, this is not some debt consolidation deal or anything along those lines.  Instead, it simply provides you with a plan to apply your current payments to your various debts in the most efficient manner to reduce your overall time until you have paid off all your debts and save you some money (hopefully a lot of money). You can see their little “How it Works” section for a bit more detail.  Probably the most interesting thing to investigate if you are considering the service is an actual example plan.

As I mentioned, this service is a yearly subscription service.  And it appears to me that you don’t really get an overall, comprehensive plan.  Instead, I think that you get a monthly email telling you exactly what to do that month with each of your current debts.  For full disclosure purposes – I have not used this service so I can’t offer any personal recommendation one way or another.  In this case, I’m just pointing out a service that you might be interested in investigating. One other note if you are a big Dave Ramsey fan – I was not able to tell if this service followed Ramsey’s debt snowball technique for getting out of debt.  Frankly, I doubt that they do but I am not sure.  UPDATE - per the comment from Roger below, see that SeeBeyond2020 uses a hybrid snowball/avalanche method for determining your payment plan.

If you have used this tool, please leave a comment to let us know how well it worked for you and  your overall impression and recommendation.

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The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5 (NIV)

Though it seems fairly straightforward, I did find this week’s Bible verse to be an interesting one.  Of course it underscores the importance of taking your time and planning ahead.  It states that being a diligent planner will lead you to success.  Now I certainly consider seeking God’s wisdom and direction when constructing your plans to be an integral part of that diligent planning process.

So, what is so interesting about this verse?  Well, I misread it the first time I looked at it.  As you read through the book of Proverbs, you see a number of verses related to being lazy or a sluggard.  And when I first read this verse, I read it not as being hasty but as being lazy.  But it does not say that being lazy leads to poverty (though I’m sure it does somewhere else); rather it says that being hasty leads down that path.  The lesson is that even though you might try really hard and exert great effort, the fact that you are being hasty, rushing onward, and not taking the necessary time for planning will still lead to failure.  (no, you don’t find it as interesting as I do?)

So, take your time, do your planning, and make sure a significant portion of that planning is seeking God’s will and direction.  Interesting or not, that is good advice to remember.

God bless and have a great week…

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This class marks our final FPU lesson and introduced the final baby step.  I appreciated that this lesson was included as the final class in FPU.  I felt it was, in a way, the culmination of all the earlier lessons but not in a wrapup/summary kind of way.  Instead, this lesson answered the question, “Why?”  Why should you be responsible with your finances?  Why should you get out of debt?  Why should you attempt to build wealth?  Is it not simply to have loads of money to greedily hoard for yourself?  Or is it to gain enough to feel like you are self-sufficient and do not need to rely on God?  Thankfully, no.  So why do we do all of this…

Baby Step 7 – Build wealth and give

Dave started off this final lesson with this quote found in the workbook:

You can do everything we teach and you will prosper, but if you don’t understand this lesson, you will never have financial peace.

The “Great Misunderstanding,” as Ramsey calls it, is the incorrect view that the best way to have more money is to hold tightly onto what you already have.  Dave used the visual aid of tightly grasping some cash – yes, you probably won’t lose any out of your hand, but it also won’t be possible for more to get into your hand.  In contrast, when your hand is open and money is able to flow out of it to others, it is also easy for more to flow into your hand as well.

We are asset managers for God

Remember that we are not owners of anything in this world, we are simply stewards, or asset managers, for the real owner – God.  If you have read the Bible, you will see that we are repeatedly told to give …why are we told that so often?  Ramsey presents a number of reasons for this, some of which are:

• Giving makes us more spiritually mature,  more Christ-like
• Giving makes us less selfish – less selfish people are more likely to prosper in relationships and wealth
• Giving is a reminder that we are not the owners – you’re not even giving away your own money
• Giving is praise and worship
• Giving is offensive spiritual warfare

Remember, neither God nor the church need your money.  What they need are “sold-out believers” and giving will just a by-product of living out that sold-out faith.

How to Give

You’ve probably heard of what has become a fairly controversial topic in Christian circles – the “tithe.”  You’ve probably heard arguments such as should Christians tithe?  Must they tithe? How should they tithe?  Where should they tithe?  Ramsey addressed these topics in the following way.  First, the tithe is a tenth (that’s literally what “tithe” means) of your “increase.”  The Bible states that you are to give of your “first fruits” – so not what’s left over at the end of the month.  Furthermore, in the Old Testament, God tells the Israelites to bring the tithe into the storehouse of the temple.  This money in the storehouse was used to take care of widows, orphans, and the Levites serving in the temple.  Our modern day analogue is your local church which is still tasked with taking care of widows (including military spouses, single parents, etc), orphans, and your church staff. The Bible also mentions “offerings” separately from the tithe.  These are given above the tithe and are given from your surplus.

So, if I interpreted Ramsey correctly, he suggests that Christians should give 10% of their gross salary to their local church and any offerings above that to other Godly organizations.

Remember this about giving…

Dave then spent a few minutes reminding us about some truths from the Bible.  He started off by telling us that the tithe was not initiated as part of the Old Testament law; it was introduced prior the law.  For instance, Abraham gave a tithe to God and so did Jacob after his ladder dream.  Finally, never give with the motivation of getting what you gave, or more, returned to you (sorry about that if you’re a prosperity gospel kinda person).  We should give because God tells us to give.  Now, God does say that we will be prospered if we do so, but that doesn’t necessarily mean financially prospered.

Wrap-up

Ramsey wrapped up this final class with these two thoughts:

Financial Peace is more than just God’s system for understanding money, becoming debt free, and building wealth.

Financial Peace is when the Great Misunderstanding is understood

So that was the 13th and final class and it was quite motivational to me.  I would love to get to the point, both in attitude and resources, where I could freely give money to help those around me.  How much fun would that be?  Frankly, I’d love to spend my days going around meeting with church planters or missionaries or school administrators or whatever handing out checks.  I’d get business cards printed up that had as my title, “Major Donor.”  Wouldn’t that be so cool!!

I’ll do at least one more FPU post next week – a wrap-up type post of what I learned, what I liked and didn’t like, what steps I still need to accomplish, etc.  In the meantime, with many new FPU classes starting up around now, if you have the opportunity to take part in Financial Peace, I would highly recommend it!

Check out my previous FPU posts:

• Introduction
• Lesson 1 – Super Saving
• Lesson 2 – Relating with Money
• Lesson 3 – Cash Flow Planning
• Lesson 4 – Dumping Debt
• Lesson 5 – Credit Sharks in Suits
• Lesson 6 – Buyer Beware
• Lesson 7 – Clause and Effect
• Lesson 8 – That’s Not Good Enough
• Lesson 9 – Of Mice and Mutual Funds
• Lesson 10 – From Fruition to Tuition
• Lesson 11 – Working in Your Strengths
• Lesson 12 – Real Estate and Mortgages

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The holidays have come and gone (the decorations have been taken down already and that Christmas Yule Log fireplace show we watched so much has disappeared from our cable), 2009 is history and we are already a few weeks into 2010!  Thus it’s time to take a look at our net worth here in early 2010 and investigate what happened during December and what happened throughout 2009.

Monthly Wrapup

Our assets increased almost 1.7%

Just like last month, all of our assets increased a bit except for our house value which dropped again! Most asset categories posted mid-single digit growth so at least this month their increases were enough to offset another drop in house value.  I am a bit disappointed in our house value continuing to drop.  We were so close to being in a positive position a few months ago but now it’s back down near its nadir  Doh!

Our liabilities decreased 0.5%

Another month, another drop of about 0.5% on our liabilities.  I haven’t done anything with the mortgage, I have no immediate plans for the mortgage, and I haven’t figured out how to get to where Dave Ramsey recommends we should be with our mortgage.  Apparently I’m just waiting for divine intervention (c’mon, it was a very busy month!).

Our net worth increased more than 4%

After last month’s drop which followed so many months of growth, our net worth has returned to growth again.  Actually, I could have massaged the numbers last month and kept the streak alive.  After the fact, I noticed that if I would have waited another day or two before logging all the data, my wife’s paycheck would have come in and that would have tipped us back to the positive.  Oh well, streaks and such don’t really make a difference – what matters most when calculating your net worth is…..well, your net worth.

2009 Wrapup

2009 was quite a year for our family in a number of ways.  I’m sure you don’t want to hear all those details however, so I’ll stick to the net worth!  Overall, our assets increased 15%. This was lead by strong returns in investments (170%) and retirement savings (55%).  Our most impressive percentage gains were found in stock options (458%) and college savings (272%) but the overall values were fairly small for those categories so they did not sway our actual net worth significantly. Our home value did decrease 5.6% throughout the year and that was on top of a 7.2% decrease in value throughout 2008!  Now, it had gone up in value previous to 2008 so that is maybe not as bad as it sounds but we are definitely underwater on our mortgage right now.

Our liabilities decreased 6% during 2009. This was fueled mostly by the decrease in my wife’s contractual liability that we track as a debt (since it restricts our freedom of action somewhat).  In fact, our mortgage decreased a whopping 1.2% – that’s only a few thousand dollars!  Looking at these numbers is best argument I’ve seen yet for a 15 year mortgage.  It is startling to think of how much money I sent to the mortgage company throughout 2009 and to see the actual principle only decrease that little!  Argh!

Overall, our net worth increased 61% during 2009. That was very encouraging to me.  Granted, this was on the heels of a stock market drop in 2008 but I’ll take a 61% increase every year with no complaints!  As long as this trend continues, we should be millionaires in just a few more years  (as long at the 2009 trend of +61% and not the 2008 trend of -1%, that is!).

So, 2009 turned out to be a very positive year in so many ways for me and my family.  And our plan remains basically the same as we embark on 2010.  One significant difference that will be need to be addressed, however, is a new addition will be arriving in a few weeks – BorrowFromNone Junior #4.  As a result, our expenses will obviously increase but on top of that, my wife will not be working for at least 2.5 months.  Currently, nothing major is planned finance-wise other than a little belt tightening to get our budget cut down to be able to live on one salary for a while.  That tentative plan may need to change as we get into it, though; we will revisit it after a bit and see if any more significant changes are necessary.

Well, I hope 2009 was prosperous for you as well (money-wise and especially other-wise).  May God bless you as you seek to honor Him throughout 2010!

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Budg-et (buj‘it): noun Freedom

The question the speaker asked the group was simple, “What is the best definition of a budget?” Thinking the question was a bit academic and boring, I was not interested in hearing the definition until I heard his answer. Thoughtfully, he wrote the definition on the board in front of the class: the word “FREEDOM.”

You are out of your mind was my immediate reaction. A budget constrains spending. If I adhere to it, it will keep me from spending funds the way I want, when I want, and for what I want. How does it provide freedom?

The speaker went on to explain that if a person has a budget that functionally meets the goals his family decides are important, it will provide the freedom to be “worry free” when it comes to finances. People with budgets know at any given time if they are on track in reaching their financial objectives. They know if the balance between income and spending is healthy and know how much they have available to spend in various areas.

If, for example, a family decides they want to have a fabulous vacation next summer, they need to determine the amount of money they need for such. They can then structure the way they spend the rest of their money around this primary goal. When it comes to determining how much they spend on clothes, eating out, or the kind of cars they drive, their decision will be based on their knowledge of how much money they need to set aside for their vacation. The budget will provide the guidelines needed to make everyday purchasing decisions.

I thought for a second, How many times have I walked through a store and spied a jacket or home repair tool that I wanted to purchase? If I had known how much money was set aside for such purchases I would have known if I could have the item or not. Since I did not have a budget, my decision was based on a guess. A budget would have provided the freedom not to have to worry if the decision to buy one of these items would force me to scrimp elsewhere.

Most people worry about their finances. In fact, the stress associated with money is one of the major reasons most married couples argue. A realistic budget forces a family to establish priorities and allows them the freedom to spend their money in areas they have identified as most important to them. Identifying spending priorities allows the freedom to work together in support of mutual goals. Couples are no longer pulled away from one another because of finances but are instead working together in support of one another. Knowledge of family resources and priorities provides a foundation upon which to make wise financial decisions – decisions that build family relationships.

Of course, the process for crafting a budget can be somewhat complex, but once it is initially drafted, all that is needed is periodic fine-tuning. Yes, life changes, new needs evolve, and goals are altered. A well crafted budget will provide the flexibility to allow for these changes with each new version.

So the speaker was right. A great definition for a budget is “freedom.” A realistic budget provides the freedom to make wise financial decisions. With such, people can be free from worry about their present circumstances and future financial fitness. They know everything will work out if they simply concentrate on making purchases that support their budgets. Yes, a budget does indeed provide financial freedom.

American Missionary Fellowship offers a personal finance workshop, Fiscal Fitness. For more information about attending or hosting a workshop in your area, give me (Bryce Bartruff) a call at 610-527-4439, ext. 104 or email me at fiscalfitness@americanmissionary.org.

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For wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.  Proverbs 8:11 (NIV)

Of course, rubies, or “jewels” in other translations, are valuable and worth a lot of money.  Yet the book of Proverbs teaches us that wisdom is even more precious that these jewels.  In fact, this verse goes on to say that nothing you desire compares with wisdom.  That’s a pretty bold statement – nothing compares with wisdom?  Not money, gold, silver, diamonds, <insert desirable item here>…nothing.

It’s also a pretty simple and straightforward statement so let’s delve beneath surface a bit…why is wisdom more precious?  For one thing, money is fleeting – you spend it and it’s gone.  By contrast, wisdom you are able to keep a lifetime and even sharing it with others will not diminish your quantity of wisdom.  You still need money to eat and buy clothes and shelter however, so take this one start further and consider that possessing wisdom does enable you to gain money.  In fact, I would argue that it enables you to gain a lot more money compared to someone without much wisdom.  Possessing and using wisdom can lead you to more and better relationships, more opportunities, great ability to capitalize on those opportunities, and so on and so forth.

So, maybe wisdom does exactly not equal money in your hand, but it seems to lead to a more fulfilling, less stressful life, and more financially stable (maybe even prosperous) life down the road.

God bless and have a great week…

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